Record Detail

The focus of this study is how Australian facil-itators viewed their experience of delivering professionaldevelopment programs for in-service teachers from theProvince of Papua, Indonesia. Semi-structured interviewswere conducted with 10 program facilitators from theuniversity and schools on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland,Australia. Thematic analysis identified that the initialknowledge of the Papuan context was not equally dis-tributed between the program designers and other facilita-tors. Nevertheless, the programs were seen positively,contributing to facilitators’ increased teaching enthusiasm.It was reported that examples derived from the Papuancontext were used in the facilitators’ classrooms, and asense of reconfirmation that the facilitators’ teachingpractices were in line with the Papuan teachers’ needs. Forthe university and school facilitators, the Papuan teachers’professional development programs contributed toincreased understanding of cultural differences and simi-larities and opened opportunities for wider engagementwith the Asian region. While the findings are mainlyapplicable to the Sunshine Coast context, other universitiesplanning to host similar programs may need to preparefacilitators with greater understanding of the teachers’contexts, encourage critical reflection on the lessonslearned from delivering the programs, and communicatethe positive lessons to the wider university communty